KotOR - 10th Anniversary Interview

To celerbate the tenth anniversary of KOTOR GameAgent has an interview with Lead Designer James Ohlen.

Jon Carr: Can you introduce yourself to our readers and explain the role you had in creating Knights Of The Old Republic?

James Ohlen: My name is James Ohlen. Currently I’m a VP/Studio Creative Director at EA/Bioware. I’ve worked as Game Director on Star Wars: The Old Republic as well as lead designer on Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2, Neverwinter Nights and Dragon Age: Origins. I was the lead designer on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. In that role I handled story, level design and game systems.  

JC: You were also lead designer on Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights. How did your role in creating those games influence the development and vision of KOTOR?

JO: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was built on all of the learning we gained about storytelling and level design from the Baldur’s Gate games. The Neverwinter Nights engine was used to build KOTOR, so that game had a big influence on the game systems we put into KOTOR.

JC: Given the large amount of Star Wars movies, games and books, how did you decide on the timeframe and story for KOTOR?

JO: We wanted a timeframe that gave us the freedom to tell an epic story where the player’s choices could impact the entire galaxy. That would be difficult during the movie era as Luke, Han and Leia were the movers and shakers of that time period. So we decided to base the game in The Old Republic era. Even though the game takes place thousands of years ago, we felt it was important that it feel similar in tone to the original trilogy, both in story and in art style.